Germany’s 2013 Box Office Droops as Sun Shrivels Summer

High-school comedy 'Fack Ju Goehte' sells 6 million tickets

LONDON — The box office gross in Germany fell 2% last year to Euros 951 million ($1.3 billion), while admissions dropped 4.7% to 119 million.

The drop was due to gorgeous weather in the summer that drew folk into the sunshine and away from theaters. The situation was made worse by weak titles during the summer months. Strong audiences in December helped claw back some of the shortfall.

Warner was top dog among the distributors with a 19% share of gross, followed by Sony on 12.5% and Fox 11%. Behind them was Universal on 10.6%, Disney on 8.6% and Constantin Film on 8.5%.

Warner’s “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” slayed all opposition to become the top grossing film in Germany with Euros 48 million ($65.6 million) taken in the calendar year. The pic is still playing in theaters.

Constantin’s high-school comedy “Fack Ju Goehte” (Fuck You Goethe) came second with Euros 42 million ($57.4 million), although its admissions tally — 6 million — was ahead of that for “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.”

“Fack Ju Goehte” is still in theaters and has now grossed Euros 45 ($61.5 million), a huge figure for a German movie. Directed by Bora Dagtekin, whose “Turkish for Beginners” was a hit in 2012, the film centers on a criminal who is forced to become a substitute teacher in order to locate some buried loot.

In third place was Sony’s “Django Unchained” with Euros 38 million ($51.9 million).